WEEK SIX

Helix running back Michael Adkins get tackled from behind after collecting 12 of his game-high 146 rushing yards as the Scotties shutout Valhalla, 24-0. (Photo by Don DeMars Photography) VIEW ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

	Santana running back Kahlil Stewart. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com) VIEW / PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
	Sultans bounce off the deck, stun ECVHS By Bill Dickens © East County Sports.com EL CAJON (10-6-12) — After a scoreless first quarter, the Santana Sultans thought they were going to slide to a sixth straight loss in Friday (Oct. 5) night’s Grossmont Valley League opener at El Cajon Valley. The Braves appeared prepared to treat their homecoming crowd to a key victory when MATHEW SHEARIN returned an interception 65 yards for a touchdown in the second period. But after usually sure-footed IRVING VORBON had the PAT blocked, Santana’s RYAN BROWNING returned the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown. DYLAN ENGLISH tacked on the PAT, putting the Sultans on top 7-6. No doubt the biggest play of the game in Santana’s 21-12 victory was turned in by CORY CONNER. The senior linebacker blocked a punt and recovered it in the endzone for a touchdown with 3 seconds to go in the first half. English kicked the PAT and Santana was sitting on a 14-6 halftime lead. “It feels great to finally get the first win,” said Sultans coach TIM ESTES. “But you know what was really weird about this game? It seemed like the clock was running in slow motion – that only added to the tension.” The Sultans extended their lead to 21-6 in the 3rd quarter when SHELDON PAYNE recovered a fumble in the endzone. El Cajon Valley came storming back in the 4th quarter when HAKIM HARRIS hit VIRNEL MOON in the right corner of the endzone on a scoring pass with 10:36 remaining. “We had a lot of key plays and that’s what it takes to win a game,” Estes said. TYLER BROWNING intercepted 2 passes to spark the Santana defense. His second theft came at the El Cajon Valley 42-yard line with 19 seconds remaining. “It feels good to be in first place (actually tied with Mount Miguel ),” said Tyler Browning. “We basically had to start from scratch but we’re getting to be a better team. I think people are going to have to take a little bit more notice than they thought they would.” Defense was Santana’s strong suit. KEVIN BRADY, SHAWN PADBERG, OWEN BROWN kept the pressure on the Braves’ passing game, which produced only 48 yards and was sacked four times.
	Braves ball-carrier Antoine White (10) is cut off by Santana senior Cory Conner, who later blocked a punt for a touchdown. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com)
	Hillers defensive back Trent Galkoski (bottom) with the take-down of the Eagles' Eddie Paskle in Friday's 48-6 triumph. (Photo by Linda Byerline) VIEW ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE
	Hillers thump Granite Hills, move to 6-0 By David Hurst © East County Sports.com EL CAJON (10-6-12) — Can the Grossmont Foothillers get some R-E-S-P-E-C-T? The 6-0 Hillers put their undefeated record on the line Friday night (Oct. 5) and came out with a commanding 48-6 victory over the Granite Hills Eagles. Although the Eagles came in with a losing record, Grossmont had plenty of motivation due to an embarrassing loss to Granite Hills last season. Revenge was on the mind of the Hillers’ star quarterback ANTHONY LAWRENCE. “Last year, we lost to this team, we struggled,” Lawrence said. “It was an embarrassing loss. It feels great to get a win this year. We tried to put it in on offense on every possession and for the most part it worked out.” Indeed the Hillers scored on 7 of 11 possessions thanks to their high powered, no huddle offense that accounted for 465 all-purpose yards to remain one of California ’s lone unbeaten teams. The seven Hillers scoring drives all averaged less than 2 minutes as the Eagle defense just couldn’t keep pace. Lawrence displayed his usual brilliance, throwing for 336 yards and 4 touchdowns. Six Grossmont ball carriers combined for 120 yards, with MARLON LAMPART leading the way with 58 rushing yards. “They’re a good football team. We gave up 34 points in the first half, you can’t win like that,” said Eagles coach KELLAN COBBS. When asked what he felt about Grossmont’s chances going forward Cobbs replied. “We’ll see if they can keep it up and win league. I don’t think they’ll finish it out (undefeated) but they are a good football team.” The game was out of hand by the end of the 1st quarter after Lawrence torched the Eagles for 3 touchdown passes, the first a 5-yard strike to JEFF BOWERS. Less than 4 minutes later Lawrence connected on a 70-yard touchdown pass that was caught after the ball ricocheted off an Eagle defender’s hands into the waiting arms of Bowers, who raced untouched into the end zone. Bowers had 4 receptions for 99 yards and 2 touchdowns on the night. On the final play of the 1st quarter Lawrence hit MARCUS FLISHER on a 6-yard touchdown pass and the Hillers were off and running. Flisher also scored on a 5-yard run and also intercepted a TYLER HOPPER pass in the 3rd quarter to top off a well-rounded performance on both sides of the ball. Grossmont’s AVERI SMITH and KALVIN WATERS also found pay dirt on 1- and 8-yard runs respectively. LAWRENCE saw his 4th touchdown of the night go to AUSTIN AGER on a 26-yard pass. Granite Hills did spoil the Hillers hopes of a shutout when Hopper connected with ROBBY TENNENT on an 8-yard scoring pass on the final play of the game. The Eagles fell to 1-5, and managed only 244 yards of total offense. TIGRAN GUMUSHYAN and JUSTIN PEACE each notched a tackle for loss and TROY RENDON added another interception as the Grossmont defense smothered the Eagles. JESSE BISBAL led the Granite Hills offense with 60 yards on 15 carries. Tennent finished with 5 receptions for 38 yards and the lone Eagles’ touchdown. “6-0 sounds real good,” said Flisher. Now seems like a good time for the rest of the county to recognize that Grossmont is for real.
	Hillers lineman Logan Candelario (75) pancakes a Granite Hills defender to open the hole for Kalvin Waters. (Photo by Linda Byerline)

'Perfect' first half by Helix scorches Valhalla

By Nick Pellegrino
© East County Sports.com
LA MESA (10-6-12) — For all of the impressive statistics rolled up by Valhalla High in recent weeks, Helix' defensive unit calmly kept it’s focus on what they do best.

"The team put the defense on our backs and we made big plays," said junior cornerback JALEN DAVIS. "Everyone stepped up and played."

And played. And played.

Five quarterback sacks and four interceptions later – including a pair by Davis, one returned 92 yards for the victory-capping touchdown – the Highlanders were never challenged in pounding the Norsemen, 24-0, during Friday's (Oct. 5) Homecoming triumph at Benton Hart Stadium.

Helix cornerback Jalen Davis (4) races 92 yards with an interception runback for a touchdown in the Highlanders' 24-0 blanking of Valhalla in the teams' Grossmont Hills League opener. It was Davis' second theft in the fourth quarter. (Courtesy, La Mesa Patch)

Despite scoring no fewer than four touchdowns in nine straight outings, the Norsemen offense never stood a chance to claim this Grossmont Hills League opener.

In the first half among the 17 offensive snaps by Valhalla, just four plays went for positive yardage. None earned the team a first down, as Helix tossed the football-equivalent of a perfect game over the first 24 minutes of action.

"We're not trying to be perfect, we're just trying to get better every week," said linebacker JALEEL HUNN. "We kept our focus."

Valhalla quarterback RAMSEY ROMANO completed a short flip pass for 6 yards on his first attempt. He then closed the half with eight straight incompletions, capped by an interception by KENDAL KEYS.

"Our line play was very good because some guys stepped up because we had some guys hurt," noted Keys. "Our defense wins championships."

The second half saw the Norsemen finally advance past midfield, reaching the Helix-29 before TYERE HUNTER stepped in front of a receiver for another theft. Then in the fourth quarter, Davis first raced 31 yards after picking off Romano (6-13-4, 97 yards), then the senior registered his record runback with 4:44 remaining to preserve the shutout. The touchdown runback came immediately after Valhalla's deepest penetration of the ballgame to the Helix-25.

"I just thought 'I gotta get it and take it to the house,'" Davis added.

A balanced Helix attack saw running back MICHAEL ADKINS rush 18 times for 148 of the Scotties' 152 yards on the ground. The aerial attack saw JOSH HARRIS collect 162 yards on 14-for-22 passing, including a 29-yard TD strike to Keys (5 receptions, 55 yards) for the lone offensive score of the second half.

The Highlanders (4-1, 1-0 GHL) opened the scoring by handing the ball to Adkins on four straight plays, where he first raced 35 yards to set-up his 3-yard score on the team's second drive.

The second quarter saw Hunter collect a tipped pass for a 36-yard gainer, setting up a 27-yard field goal by MARCUS NORRIS for a 10-0 halftime advantage.

Going Green

The Helix Homecoming court: Queen Cynthia Mendoza and King Amu Milo (54, right). (Courtesy, La Mesa Patch)

"The defense played a helluva game," noted Milo. "And the offense had a lot of holes to fill, yet played a helluva game, too."

Setting the Tone

Valhalla's De'Shawn Tone (21) takes down Marquise Powell of Helix in Friday's GHL opener. Tone finished with 3.5 sacks. (Photo by Don DeMars)

"We came into this game with a lot of pride and heart, but our offense couldn't get into a rhythm," said Tone. "They'll bounce back next week."

The Norsemen also received interceptions by SPENCER HAVIRD and EDGAR DIAZ, while GIUSEPPE CASTANOS had both a sack and a fumble recovery,

Helix gained one sack each from Milo, Hunn, RUEBEN LEASAU, BLAKE LESTER and FORREST HANLON, giving the Highlanders their second straight shutout of Valhalla (42-0 last season) to outscore them by a 99-7 count over the past three seasons since the Norsemen last captured the league title in 2009.

P-P-eRrors – For the second straight week, KUSI-TV coverage of prep football reported an alledged school record... and got it wrong again. The longest interception return in Helix history is 95 yards, set by TRELON TAYLOR against Rancho Buena Vista in 2008.

A week earlier, the highlight show noted West Hills set a school mark for best record to start a season... actually, the Wolf Pack once went 10-0 in the regular season, so that television report was off – by half-a-season!

A safety is a rare enough play, but to also get a photo of such an occurance deserves posting after Steele Canyon's Dalvin Barnes (in white) records this 4th-quarter takedown in the end zone. (Photo by LionsBrow Photography) VIEW ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

STEELE CANYON 36, WEST HILLS 10 – Never accuse the Steele Canyon Cougars of taking the easy route in preseason preparation. Games against Cathedral Catholic, St. Augustine, Eastlake and Southern Section power Canyon have certainly hardened the Spring Valley team. Only 1-3-1 heading into Santee to take on the previously unbeaten West Hills High Wolf Pack (5-0), it seemed that the Cougars might be in for yet another stiff challenge.

Ready indeed. Steele Canyon started the opening drive at its own 20. Running back LASHAWN WARE opened the evening with an 18 yard burst to the 38-yard line. After a short gain, on 2nd and 9 from the Cougars 39-yard line, quarterback BRANDON ANDRADE fired his first shot. Andrade looked deep left and found wide receiver TOMMY TYLER, and 61 yards later, Steele Canyon had its first lead 7-0.

West Hills Wolf Pack football isn't built on stretching the field. Or having it stretched on them.

So when the Wolf Pack tightened the score to 7-3 on a 21-yard field goal by DANIEL MC MANUS, West Hills was playing well within their game plan.

West Hills' defense found its legs two drives later. After a bad snap in the shotgun formation, and an incompletion, Steele Canyon found itself with a 3rd down and 25 on its own 40-yard line.

Andrade managed to complete a short pass that was subsequently fumbled. SHAUN PATTERSON recovered for the Wolf Pack.

Starting in Steele Canyon territory at the 40-yard line, the West Hills offense found its pulse. Junior running back NOAH YLAGAN had runs of 5 and 9 yards. Quarterback RASHAAN MILLER threw for 5 yards. Senior running back ERIC SEABOCH finished with a 5-yard run on 1st and goal. West Hills was having things their way and led 10-7 with 3:19 left in the half.

The Wolf Pack was rolling. Andrade was sacked on back-to-back plays on the ensuing drive.

Third down and 17 from the Cougars 31-yard line was probably the last positive memory for the Wolf Pack. Defensive pass interference.

On first and 10 from their own 46, Ware got loose in the West Hills secondary. Ware broke left, cut right, ran over and through some defenders and 37 yards later had the Cougars set up on the 17 yard line with under a minute to play before the half.

Ware finished with 106 yards on just 11 carries, and commented on the Cougar offensive approach.

“The coaches challenged us with a tough early schedule,” he said. “Now we are starting to see the rewards. I love playing in this offense."

Andrade covered the last yard on a keeper and with 37 seconds left to play in the half, and Steele Canyon had delivered a severe blow to the Wolf Pack. Although the PAT was no good, the Cougars led 13-10 at the half.

The second half wasn't kind to West Hills. Steele Canyon only had 4 drives in the 2nd half. They would score touchdowns on 3 of them. After stalling West Hills' first drive on a sack by EDWARD DELGADO, Steele Canyon set up shop on the Wolf Pack 41-yard line. Andrade got in the passing mood and found RICKY FRANCIS for 14 and 9 yards. He then paid LAWRENCE DICKENS some attention. Dickens was handing the ball to the official in no time. Just 3 1/2 minutes into the 3rd quarter and the score 20-10, the Cougars were just starting to get mean.

West Hills was trying to answer, when JULIAN ORTEGA scooped up a loose ball on the Wolf Pack's next drive. At 2nd and 9 from the West Hills' 33-yard line, Andrade decided to see if Dickens was still available. He was, as 33 yards later Dickens had his second TD in two drives and the Steele Canyon Cougars were being rude guests in Wolf Pack country.

The Cougars' Lawrence Dickens (in white) gets behind the secondary to haul in the bomb for a Steele Canyon touchdown. (Photos by LionsBrow Photography)

They weren't close to being finished. After a West Hills penalty for intentional grounding in the endzone resulted in a safety and pushing the score to 29-10, the Cougars took the free kick on their own 46-yard line.

A nice mix of pass and run found the Cougars with 2nd down and 2 yards to go at the West Hills 22-yard line. Time for TOMMY TYLER. A deep route down the right side and a nice catch and run closed the scoring the same way it began. Tyler and Andrade bracketed TD hook-ups in the first and last drive around 24 other Cougar points. Tyler hauled in 2 catches for 83 yards and 2 scores.

Andrade opens the Grossmont Hills League on the highest of notes... 4 TD passes and a TD run. Steele Canyon was the better team on this night.

— MARK MEADOWS

West Hills' Johnny Espinosa (22) sacks Steele Canyon quarterback Brandon Andrade. (Photos by LionsBrow Photography)

Following a re-taping of his right ankle, Matadors running back Tony Dozier (right) follows the lead block from Sonny Samoata (58) for a huge gain en route to a 291-yard effort against Monte Vista.. (Courtesy photos, La Mesa Patch)

Senior TONY DOZIER, a 5-foot-11, 220-pound hard-charging running back is not all that shifty but he is powerful, taking the ball between the tackles.

Monte Vista stacked up their defense in hopes of controlling Dozier but it really didn’t work as he rushed for 291 yards and 2 touchdowns on 27 carries. Dozier’s rushing totals included a 70-yard burst that led to a Matadors touchdown.

“It’s all about running downhill,” Dozier said. “The counter was there for us and the O-line was there all night.”

The Matadors also scored on a 5-yard pass to JOVAN RICHARDSON.

Some of the fans in the stands thought Dozier left the field with an arm and a leg injury.

Mount Miguel coach SHAUN McDADE said that was not the case.

“We had to take him out because he just got tired,” he said. “It wasn’t about injuries, although he was probably dinged up a bit. When you carry the ball in the heart of the lineup you’re gonna get beat up, so sometimes you need a break.”

Monte Vista avoided a shutout on a 6-yard scoring run by SHAWN MORALES, who also recorded 5 tackles and a sack. JEMEIL JACKSON logged 8 tackles for the Monarchs, and TIM BROWN accounted for an interception. MESSAI SMALL had 3 tackles and a fumble recovery.

For Mount Miguel MIRACLE TAUSAUGA had 4 tackles and KEITH LUSK sacked Monarchs quarterback BRAD MORENO once, as did DONELL PAYNE.

Christian High pass rusher Tyler Leslie (77) gets held by Coronado. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com) VIEW / PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

CHRISTIAN 42, CORONADO 10 – Known primarily for its prolific passing game in the past, the Patriots opened the Central League season with a fierce running game against visiting Coronado at Granite Hills Friday night (Oct. 5).

For the third straight game the Patriots fell behind as the Islanders took a 7-0 lead, which irked Christian coach MATT OLIVER.

“We played a sloppy 1st half and fell behind for the third straight game,” lamented Oliver.

The Patriots finally regained their footing behind RAYVON OWENS, who rushed for 209 yards on 21 carries for 4 touchdowns in the Patriots’ 42-10 romp over the Islanders. Owens scored on runs of 8, 40, 1 and 23.

PARIS MILLER added 123 yard rushing on 10 carries as Christian totaled 573 yards total offense.

PHILLIP GEORGE reeled in 88 yards for 2 touchdowns. He also returned a kickoff 23 yards and intercepted a pass.

The big man in the attack, of course, was Owens, who wasn’t afraid to pass out praise.

Christian High senior captain Rayvon Owens. (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com)

What Oliver wasn’t happy about was Christian had 3 touchdowns called back and was called for 6 holding penalties.

“We were never in jeopardy of losing but we were pretty darned careless,” Oliver said.

Not to be overlooked was Christian’s junior quarterback MICHAEL CARRILLO, who completed 10 of 11 passes for 155 yards and a touchdown. Miller also threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to George.

Junior Varsity Results

El Capitan 31, Olympian 9 Christian 7, Coronado 0 Santana 23, ECVHS 0 Monte Vista 35, Mount Miguel 21 West Hills 20, Steele Canyon 14 Helix 47, Valhalla 7 Grossmont 41, Granite Hills 20

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Freshmen Results

Santana 36, ECVHS 0 Grossmont 19, Granite Hills 14 Steele Canyon 24, West Hills 6 Helix 41, Valhalla 0 Monte Vista 21, Mount Miguel 6

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This would be forecasted as a low scoring defensive battle, not so. Vincent Memorial came to play, and Foothills Christian had no answer, on both sides of the ball. Missed tackles, and 4 fumbles – all lost and cashed in for touchdowns.

The score was 16-0 at the half, well within reach, but again the Knights had no answer for the duration. The bleeding would end with a Knights fumble and a Vincent Memorial score.

The Knights finished with 113 yards in total offense. SPENCER GEORGE, playing at quarterback after KYLE MOBERG was injured, passed for 6 of 11 for 92 yards, and also was the leading rusher with 8 carries for 13 yards.

“Hopefully our kids can learn from this, as we came out flat, and Vincent Memorial was ready to play,” said Lubic. “We have a short week next week, and maybe that will help. At 3-2 we can still make the playoffs with our remaining schedule.”

— DAVE DICKENS

“Olympian’s legit,” Burner said. “Not only do they have good size and good speed, they’re a very disciplined team.”

Olympian led 27-6 at halftime.

“Like I told our kids, if you want to get to Qualcomm Stadium you have to beat teams like Olympian,” Burner added.

Vaqueros sophomore quarterback BRAD CAGLE completed 13 of 31 passes for 170 yards including a 40-yard scoring pass to East County receiving leader SCOTT ROOT.

“We were just overmatched in this game,” Burner said.

Other Views

Imperial Valley Press

CALIPATRIA 40, MOUNTAIN EMPIRE 28 – The host Hornets overcame a long
62-yard touchdown run by the Red Hawks on the fourth play of the contest to rally for the victory in Friday's (Oct. 5) Manzanita League opener.

Santana's Tyler Browning (80) heads upfield in the Sultans surprising 21-12 triumph over host El Cajon Valley. Browning registered a pair of second-half interceptions for Santana. Attempting to make the tackle from behind for the Braves is Esquire (21). (Photo by Frank Price, youatplay.com) VIEW / PURCHASE ADDITIONAL PHOTOS HERE

Here’s another nugget for this series as Valhalla has posted only three wins and two ties since 1975 against the Highlanders. Bottom line though is Helix won 42-0 last year and 33-7 the year before.

Don’t look for a blowout like that this time as Norsemen quarterback RAMSEY ROMANO (1740, 20 TDs) is among the best in the San Diego CIF. And he has plenty of help in receivers BRYAN MACIAS (27-338, 4 TDs), BENJAMIN HOWARD (22-529, 7 TDs) and KEVIN MILLS (21-322, 1 TD).

This should be a narrow escape for... Helix 28-20.

STEELE CANYON (1-3-1) at No. 12 WEST HILLS (5-0) – Whoever put together Steele Canyon’s schedule was a coach looking for challenges. Friday’s (Oct. 5) contest at West Hills is a Grossmont Hills League encounter.

Credit West Hills coach TAY SNEDDON for pulling an immediate turnaround for the Wolf Pack, which has stacked up five wins in a row by outscoring its opponents 191-59.

Steele Canyon, on the flip side, can point out the rugged schedule the Cougars have played. RASHAAN MILLER does it all for the Wolf Pack, as does quarterback BRANDON ANDRADE for the Cougars.

So this should be a great showdown... West Hills 24-20.

MOUNT MIGUEL (1-4) at MONTE VISTA (2-3) – The last time Monte Vista won three games was in 2008, and the Monarchs will be hard-pressed to do it again when they host Spring Valley rival Mount Miguel in Friday night’s (Oct. 5) Grossmont Valley League opener.

There’s no secret what Mount Miguel wants to do. They want to give the ball to TONY DOZIER (116, 636, 2 TDs). This is not to say the Matadors cannot throw the football because quarterback BRAD MORENO has thrown for 501 yards and 5 touchdowns.

In the case of Monte Vista running backs JEMEIL JACKSON and ERIC COLLINS carry the offense, while THOMAS WALKER directs the aerial game.

Mount Miguel has won 6 of the last 7 games between these Spring Valley rivals and should continue their dominance... Mount Miguel 20-12.

GRANITE HILLS ( 1-4) at No. 10 GROSSMONT (5-0) – The Eagles broke into the win column last week for the first time by edging Madison Avenue rival El Cajon Valley by four points. While that was a nice win for them, Grossmont, which opens the Grossmont Hills League, will be a major challenge as the 10th-ranked Foothillers may be the best team in East County.

The main man in the Foothillers’ arsenal is ANTHONY LAWRENCE (83-124, 1307 yards, 12 TDs). One of the most overlooked stats in Lawrence ’s portfolio is he’s only thrown two interceptions. He has more than a handful of receivers to throw to, which should drive the Granite Hills’ secondary crazy.

The key for Granite Hills is ball control. Although the Eagles beat Grossmont 27-23 a year ago, the Foothillers have won five of the previous meetings. The Eagles won’t be able to stop that trend this year... Grossmont 27-7.

CORONADO (1-4) vs. CHRISTIAN (4-1) at Granite Hills – To say this is a running team would be an understatement because all five touchdowns scored by the Islanders this year have been on the ground.

Talk about a tight series. Coronado leads 8-7-1 but the Patriots won the last meeting 24-7 in 2005.

Coronado has surrendered 147 points this season and scored more than 3 points only twice, which should make the Islanders easy pickings for the Patriots come Friday night (Oct. 5) in both teams’ Central League opener... Christian 35-7.

SANTANA (0-5) at EL CAJON VALLEY (3-2) – The Braves hope to celebrate more than Homecoming in Friday’s (Oct. 5) Grossmont Valley League opener when they host San Diego CIF Division IV finalist Santana. The Braves have plenty of offensive weapons in ANTOINE WHITE (123-614, 5 TDs) and versatile VIRNEL MOON (528 yards, 42 points).

Santana looks to counter with the BROWNING brothers – TYLER (797, 5 TDs) and RYAN (504, 3 TDs).

Santana leads the all-time series 30-15 but that trend is not going to continue this time as El Cajon Valley should prevail... El Cajon Valley 27-17.

FOOTHILLS CHRISTIAN (3-1) vs. VINCENT MEMORIAL (1-2) at Seau Field – Manzanita League favorite, Foothills Christian opens league play Friday night (Oct. 5) by hosting Vincent Memorial at Junior Seau Field in a game that has all kinds of question marks. It took the Knights overtime to clip Classical Academy 19-18 last week. Vincent Memorial clubbed Classical Academy 36-14.

So what does that add up to?

On this side it’s a fluke because the Knights play great defense and they have SPENCER GEORGE to carry the offense... Foothills Christian 20-6.

No. 7 OLYMPIAN (5-0) at EL CAPITAN (2-3) – On Friday (Oct. 5), the Vaqueros will vie in their final non-league tune-up against an undefeated Olympian team which has outscored their first five opponents 153-48. One thing these two teams have in common is both of them manhandled Hilltop – the Eagles winning 28-0 and the Vaqueros blunting the Lancers 38-14. Olympian has some pretty impressive victories over Point Loma (38-10), El Camino (40-10), and Lincoln (21-14).

Quarterback Christopher Humphery, who has thrown for 671 yards and 9 touchdowns, leads the Eagles against an El Capitan team that has not been at full strength all season due to injuries. Sophomore quarterback BRAD CAGLE, who averages more than 204 yards on the run and in the air, is El Capitan ’s ringleader.

This is the first meeting between these two teams and the call here is the East County Sports' Upset Special of the Week... El Capitan 23-20.

By Bill Dickens
© East County Sports.com
EL CAJON (10-3-12) — Some might say that competition in the Grossmont Hills League is all about Helix. Considering the Highlanders have won 10 straight league games and a state championship over the past two years, that would be a just argument. But look out for Grossmont because the Foothillers should be a bona fide challenger of the Highlanders’ dynasty.

Predicted order of finish:

GROSSMONT HILLS LEAGUE

1. Helix (3-1) – Although the Highlanders are hardly the same team that won the state championship a year ago, they have more talent than any team in East County. The bulk of the Helix talent is on the defensive side, and teams that play defense win championships.

2. Grossmont (5-0) – Coach TOM KARLO’s Foothillers are hardly intimidated by the Highlanders, even though they’ve only won twice in the last 16 meetings. Of course Karlo wasn’t part of that, so he believes that his Hillers can win the symbolic Musket back in East County ’s longest rivalry.

3. West Hills (5-0) – Not many prognosticators even consider the Wolf Pack as a challenger in this league, but they’ve neglected to confer with second-year coach TAY SNEDDON whose team has piled up five wins in a row. It’s hard to pin-point just what is the Wolf Pack’s strength, but don’t be surprised if they knock off a team or two of those picked to finish ahead of them.

Valhalla's John Todd (4) vs. El Toro. (File photo by Don DeMars Photography)

5. Steele Canyon (1-3-1) – Ask any coach in East County and they’ll tell you that coach SCOTT LONGERBONE’s Cougars have played the toughest schedule in the county. Whether that helps or not will depend, as record-breaking quarterback BRANDON ANDRADE and his horde of receivers challenge the local entries.

6. Granite Hills (1-4) – The Eagles are way over their head in this league as first-year coach KELLAN COBBS tries to figure out an upset formula. No question, he’s overmatched this time around. Injuries have plagued this crew but Cobbs believes once he has everybody healthy good things will happen.

Left: Mount Miguel quarterback Brad Moreno (12) and the Matadors are tabbed to become the GVL champions. Meanwhile, the defense of Grossmont (right) may be enough to challenge Helix for superiority in the GHL. pennant chase. (File photos by Don DeMars Photography (left) and Linda Byerline)

1. Mount Miguel (1-4) – The Matadors rate as a slim favorite in this league. Led by hard-running TONY DOZIER, the Matadors probably could finish on top if not saddled with injuries.

2. El Cajon Valley (2-3) – When it comes to skill players nobody has more than the Braves, so coach NORMAN WHITEHEAD’s crew could pull out a league championship led by quarterback HAKIM HARRIS and versatile VIRNEL MOON along with kicker IRVING VORBON.

3. El Capitan (2-3) – History makes the Vaqueros a contender. Whether El Capitan has the talent to overthrow the teams ahead of them – that would be running back AUSTIN WATSON and quarterback BRAD CAGLE – might be enough to push them to the top.

4. Monte Vista (2-3) – The Monarchs are no doubt improved over the last two years, but once again they struggle on the offensive side.

5. Santana (0-5) – Graduation wiped out Santana’s Division IV semifinal team. Thus the Sultans look to the BROWNING brothers – TYLER and RYAN to help pick up the pace.

CENTRAL LEAGUE

1. Christian (4-1) – Despite losing key talented players, it’s hard to believe the Patriots could be denied winning the league championship. The Patriots are undoubtedly the best team in this five-team crew, which all have losing records.

Among the other teams in the league it’s just a scramble.

MANZANITA LEAGUE

1. Foothills Christian (3-1) – There are teams with better records but the Knights have the best team in this league, thus they rate the favorites role.